Former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke faces criticism for endorsing ICO with a "track record of fraud and failure"

michael-clarke

Former Australian cricketer Michael Clarke has landed himself in midst of criticism from both fans and the cryptocurrency community alike after publicly announcing his decision to endorse an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) platform - Global Tech.

Clarke posted on Twitter two days back about getting involved with the Brisbane-based company and "learn more about blockchain technologies" to create a platform that would be “part social network, part cryptocurrency exchange.”

Exciting times ahead https://t.co/kFey7jqCLFpic.twitter.com/iTW3NX28S0

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) August 8, 2018

According to a report by News BTC, the backlash stemmed off from the dubious past of the company, who has a "track record of fraud and failure."

Clarke posted a marketing image from Global Tech, which said, “I am really excited to be involved with Global Tech. Their ambition and drive is something that I resonated with straight away and I can’t wait to learn more about blockchain technologies.”

A prominent investor in cryptocurrency, John Hempton, suggested that Clarke would be better off buying a sandpaper, touting it a better investment. “Suggest Mr Clarke you just buy sandpaper. It will do less damage to your reputation.”

JP Thorbjornsen, founder of CanYa, a crypto-based freelance market project, said the move makes no sense. “As far as I understand, Michael Clarke has nothing to do with blockchain tech," said Thorbjornsen.

He further added that if Clarke was endorsing some new "cricket tech" it would make sense, but endorsing an exchange with a bad "website" is not the right thing for him to do.

The Brisbane-based website states that its ambassador receives four percent of the total funds generated by the ICO. The project aims to generate USD 50 million but has so far raised only USD 4.15 million.